


The Gray and the Gold

by LooNEY_DAC



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:04:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8875231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LooNEY_DAC/pseuds/LooNEY_DAC
Summary: Emil & Lalli--do they understand each other? Sometimes.





	1. The Gray

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rusakko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rusakko/gifts).



The trick to approaching Lalli was to be _casual_ about it. The merest hint of pursuit would be enough to set the thin Finn on edge, if not to outright flight. Slow and steady and _casual_ were the keys.

Take right now, for example: Lalli was just getting ready to go on his evening scouting run. Technically, this meant he’d be running away soon anyway, but Emil knew that if anyone tried going up to Lalli now, the thin Finn would sprint right off before he’d even finished stretching--even Emil knew how bad that was. On the other hand, if someone walked around _casually_ while Lalli was stretching, never actually looking in Lalli’s direction until the end, then Lalli would continue his calisthenics in seeming unconcern and actually venture a soft “Mrrr” in response to a _casual_ farewell.

The farewell was always in Swedish, of course. Emil had reached the point where he could read and write pretty well in Finnish, but whenever he tried to _speak_ it, every last bit of the vocabulary he’d so painstakingly memorized fled from his mind as though a grossling were after it. Why couldn’t the Finns just speak Swedish, like most of the rest of the world did?

At least Lalli seemed to understand what Emil was trying to tell him most of the time, whether Emil managed to get the words out or not. This stood in sharp contradistinction to (for example) Sigrun, whose commands and directives tended to baffle Lalli--though it must also be noted that these commands were usually directed at Lalli when he was tired, semi-conscious, or near-comatose in at least one instance.

Well, now Lalli didn’t have to worry about _that_ , at least. What he _did_ have to worry about now was that he would be making his first run into Odense proper.

Emil had been trying to keep his mind off of the hazards Lalli might face tonight, but now that the scout was about to set off, Emil could put the worrying thoughts off no longer. He _could_ , however, school his face so that his worries didn’t show as Lalli went off into the night.

His friend would be back in the morning. He’d always come back before, so he would this time, too.


	2. The Gold

The Swede wasn’t going away.

This was by no means the first time that this thought had crossed Lalli’s mind; he had had it many times, each shaded with a different emotion: exasperation, annoyance, curiosity, anger, and even relief.

Well, at least he wasn’t butchering Lalli’s language anymore. Why couldn’t the Swedes teach themselves proper speech, like the Finns did?

Lalli was really of two minds about the Swede trying to speak properly. On the one hand, it was nice that the Swede was making the effort, but on the other, he was just so _bad_ at it.

This simple dichotomy encapsulated and epitomized most every aspect of the Swede: he put in tremendous effort, yet was just _bad_ at the things he tried to master. On the other hand, there were things whose mastery it seemed the Swede had been born with: he knew he was granting grosslings release, rather than despatching them out of hate; some of Lalli’s colleagues had been in service far longer than the Swede but had yet to grasp that truth.

And then there was how the Swede seemed to understand Lalli: sometimes not at all; sometimes better than Tuuri; sometimes uncannily so. It was a puzzle that, like the Swede himself, just wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard Lalli tried to figure it out.

Well, at least the Swede wasn’t fool enough to try to come along on Lalli’s scouting run; and Lalli had to admit to a certain small bit of happiness when he heard the soft Swedish farewell.

Thoughts of the golden-haired Swede followed along with Lalli; there had been an unusual amount of worry clouding Emil’s blue eyes, though he’d tried to keep it from his face. Lalli knew what was bothering Emil, for it was bothering him, as well: Odense.

Tonight was Lalli’s first run into the city proper, and the feeling of dread that had been growing in him for the past few days had sprung into full flower. Tonight, Lalli would need to be more careful than he’d had to since they first ventured into Kastrup, or doom would stalk their little band.

Grimly, Lalli ran off into the night...


End file.
